Uberti 1873 questions from a new member.

[AJD]

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Hi everyone,

I am looking at purchasing an Uberti made 1873 rifle in 357/38 special.  I've done my best to research this rifle on a number of different websites and have come across three concerns/questions.

First would be if this rifle can withstand the use of .357 Magnum ammunition?(From what I've read some appear to say yes and some say no).  This rifle would not be used in a harsh manner and wouldn't recieve any hot rod .357 Magnum ammo.  Just standard factory loads.

Next would be if this rifle will feed .38 Special ammunition reliably.  Does OAL of the bullet cartride make a difference? Bullet weight?

Is there a typical bullet weight/type that tends to perform best in this rifle?

Thank you for your time.

[Camille Eonich]

The rifle can withstand standard .357 mag ammo.  You're not going to use that in a match though.  No reason for it and if it were me I would not repeatedly run that kind of ammo through it in a match.  If every thing is locked up good there will be no problem but if you short stroke it too many times with hot ammo sooner or later it's going to break.


My '73 feeds .38 special ammo very reliably and there are  many that do.  I think that you would be stretching it if you expected it to feed max .357 loads and min .38 loads though.

[AJD]

I would use it with .38 Special ammo most of the time.  I was just wondering if .357 Magnum ammo would cause extremely pre-mature wear and tear on the mechanism of the rifle.

What type of .38 Special ammo do you use in your 1873?

[Camille Eonich]

I load a .125 grain truncated cone on top of 3.3 grains of Red Dot.  It's a pretty reasonable load.  Not too hot and not too puny.  I think that it pushes right at 1000 fps the last time that I chronied them but don't quote me on that.


We shoot with a lot of people that use .357 rather than .38 cases.  They don't load them hot though.  Of course SASS does have a max fps so you can't go too hot with match ammo anyway.

[Jefro]

Howdy AJD, I've got a 73 and use ammo about the same as Camille 125gr with an over all length of 1.43. My .357 load is 158gr with OAL of 1.50. The 73 will easily feed both ammo without fail. For CAS there is no reason to to use 158gr or .357, just a waste of lead and money. The best buy on the 73 if you plan to use it for CAS is from one of the gunsmiths that sells them at a package deal with action job included. This will save you the cost of shipping the gun twice plus a discount on the action job. Driftwood Johnson explains the design and strength of the toggle linkage in several posts, here's one. For more info try the "search" feature, just type in "toggle link" and you'll find some great reading. Hope this helps.
http://www.cascity.com/forumhall/index.php/topic,15355.0.html

    Jefro,  Relax-Enjoy

[AJD]

Thanks for the help all.  I have one more question.  Is FMJ ammunition ok to use in these? I mean in regards to a possible chain fire.  Or should I stick with flat point or hollow point bullets?

[Silver_Rings]

You need to use a flat point design.  The bullet can be jacketed but should be flat pointed.  This is because the rounds in the magazine are stacked bullet point against the base of the cartridge thus might impact the primer setting off the round.  Not a good thing.

SR